Since Elliott Smith’s death in 2003, many people have attempted to cover some of his songs, I heard so many versions of ‘Between the Bars’ by fans and established artists – Madeleine Peyroux, Agnes Obel and even Madonna! – that I am not sure I need to hear another one. But more than this, why do we even need another version of any Elliott’s song? Didn’t he deliver their final versions in his seven solo albums? This is the thing with Elliott Smith, when you are a fan it’s hard to truly appreciate a cover because you are so obsessed with the original, and when you are an artist it’s very hard to make any of his songs totally yours. So what can you do if you want to cover him anyway? Be as loyal as possible to the original at the risk to never reach Smith’s level of intimacy and confessional-like tone, or completely re-invent the songs, at the risk to get a ‘how-dare-you!’ from the die-hard fans, who seem to represent the majority of his fans. Plus, there are the intricate guitar chords, the melancholy mixed with anger that transcend almost all his songs, the subtle melodies and the multi-levels meanings…. How do you deal with all that?
When Seth Avett (the Avett Brothers) and Jessica Lea Mayfield decided to record an album of Elliott Smith’s covers, they picked 12 songs throughout his large catalogue, and decided to sing them in duo with minimal arrangements or re-arrangements. I am not a musician so I won’t discuss the subtle chords alterations they could have made to the songs, but overall, they are sung close to the originals, hardly changed and sung with tenderness. However, you’ll certainly notice differences here and there, as well as boy-girl harmonies slightly transforming the tunes and their atmosphere.
There is no ‘Miss Misery’, probably Elliott Smith’s most well-known song because of Gus Van Sant’s movie ‘Good Will Hunting’, and there is no ‘Waltz #2 (XO)’ either, his easiest-to-fall-in-love-with-at-the-first-hearing song to my opinion, but there is a bit of everything as they cover ‘Roman Candle’ the title track off his first album, but also ‘Twilight’, ‘Fond Farewell’, ‘Let’s Get Lost’, and ‘Memory Lane’ off his posthumous album ‘From A Basement on the Hill’.
Overall, It is a beautiful listening experience, Avett and Mayfield’s voices have a real chemistry and the harmonies are delightful, however, there is a few things missing. ‘Baby Britain’ has lost some of its nervousness and energy, while ‘Somebody That I used to Know’ and ‘Let’s Get Lost’ are respectively all bright harmonies and all melancholic depression, but both songs don’t transpire any of underlining fuck-you potential of the originals. ‘Ballad of Big Nothing’ is beautifully sung with Jessica’s angelic voice and warm harmonies, ‘Angeles’, interpreted by Seth, is close to haunting, but it is very hard to recover any of the very specific intimacy conveyed by Elliott Smith’s singing, that distinct feeling that gave you the impression that his voice was singing inside your ear, inside your head and that obliged you to drop anything you were doing, reclaiming your full attention.
It’s also difficult to find any of the anger that could inhabit Elliott’s numbers, rather all the songs are performed with a lot of consideration and certainly a lot of heart but with a sort of preciosity and an almost museum-like contemplation,… may be there is too much respect and appreciation and not enough temper and aggression in all this? There is an exception though, with ‘Roman Candle’, which greatly resonates, hits hard and is reimagined with passion, and lets us ask for more.
Still, the whole album is a vibrant homage done with solemnity by two talented musicians, who underwent the difficult task to cover such a revered artist. ‘I’ve never immersed myself so completely in the music of someone else,’ said Avett in an interview… ‘There isn’t an Elliott Smith song that I don’t like, but there came a time when Seth and I had to decide to stop recording songs, because we probably had enough,’ said Mayfield. The two bonded over Elliott’s music and the album is the result of three years of labor, a blatant labor of love. So will Elliott’s fans listen to this album? May be, but probably not repeatedly because they will obviously always prefer the original songs. Will people who don’t know Elliott listen to it? I really hope so, and it may be the greatest mission and accomplishment of this album, spread the love for Elliott Smith to the whole world.
